About the Pilot Study Program:

AirCTEMPS provides access to UAS equipment for the advancement of understanding of environmental processes using innovative sensing. AirCTEMPS seeks to introduce transformative equipment to scientists early in their careers to help them incorporate these technologies as they establish their research trajectories. To assist the community in this effort, AirCTEMPS offers a pilot study program. For accepted proposals, UAS equipment is made available at no-cost (i.e. the lease fee is waived) for short-term (< 7 day) deployments on a very limited budget with the primary goal to collect publishable data that verifies feasibility. However, travel (airfare and per diem) and shipping costs are the responsibility of the PI. The Pilot Study Program is open to all graduate students and non tenured PIs with preference given to young investigators.

Available UAS Equipment:

Presently, only the DJI Phantom 4 and 3DR Solo are available under the Pilot Study Program.  Details about sensor payload and endurance are here. 

Important Details:

Support will include equipment and targets for ground control. Ground control ensures horizontal and vertical accuracies of 2 to 10 cm depending on the equipment and the environment. 

Maximum UAS survey time for any given day is approximately 4 hours. Environmental conditions may reduce this. Factor this into your decision making.  

Instrument leasing and mobilization fees can be waived, however no other financial support is provided. Proposals will be reviewed and awarded by the Center Advisory Board. Prospective PI's are encouraged to contact the staff of the Center with any questions.

Proposal applications are now being accepted on a quarterly basis. Proposals are due by April 1, July 1, October 1 and January 1. Proposals are reviewed by the CTEMPs Advisory Board with notification within 6 weeks of the proposal deadlines. CTEMPs staff are available to work with Pilot Program PI's to be refine proposal concepts, as well as experimental design review and scheduling. Proposals should be submitted in electronic form to Ann Gaidos-Morgan.

Proposals are evaluated based on:

  1. Providing access to instrumentation that could transform the research experience of the individual or group (scientific merit – 20 pts plus 10 pts if graduate student led);
  2. Their likelihood of leading to scientific discovery using this instrumentation (feasibility 20 – pts);
  3. Likelihood of team to succeed (demonstrated ability – 20 pts);
  4. Linkages to a spectrum of educational opportunities (broader merit – 20 pts plus 10 pts if graduate student led);
  5. Addressing inequity in access to support (equity – 20 pts).

Proposal Contents:

  1. Standard CTEMPS Instrument Request form
  2. Two-page document consisting of a project summary, and a numbered set of 5 paragraphs indicating the merits of the proposal related to each of the five criteria discussed above.
  3. References (no limit)
  4. Budget, Resources, and Schedule (one page demonstrating practicability)
  5. Curriculum Vitae

Data Policy: As in all CTEMPS projects, data will be made public two years after the delivery of the data.

Report: Awardees are required to submit a report one year after the delivery of the data.

Past Projects:

Brady Hot Springs

Colorado Workshop